“Manchester United are among the most recognized and successful clubs in the world, and we are pleased to have them compete against our All-Stars and two MLS clubs this summer,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “We are proud to once again present our supporters with one of the most compelling All-Star Game formats in sports and we believe Manchester United’s North American tour will be a tremendous celebration of the sport following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.”

United will also play Celtic in Toronto on July 16, the Philadelphia Union on July 21 and the Kansas City Wizards on July 25 as part of their North American tour.

“It’s great to be going back to North America,” Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “I enjoyed the last two tours there in 2003 and 2004 immensely. The quality of the facilities is outstanding and there is real enthusiasm in the crowds. It’s especially pleasing to be going in a World Cup year, when interest in football will be at its height.”

What are you, stupid???? Just that the fact that your league needs a team of all-stars to be able to take on a single club team shows that your league is mickey mouse. You’re not gonna win any fans, just more ridicule. You are truly an idiot, just like the rest of the fans of your league.

Plus, Donovan, Buddle, Montero and Lunjberg won’t be available because they will have CCL commitments that week. People will watch to see Man U prepare for the season, but no one will be impressed by your league.

I do think the gap is closing. I don’t care about Man U all that much, especially with that rediculous logo ( is that really their logo or did someone just put that together on the fly ? ).
I just look at the young players that are finding time and contributing in MLS. With that happening it is hard to say MLS isn’t getting better, quickly. It is not like there was a mass exodus of players, just young players winning playing time.

Even in the confined, cloistered and defined EPL, in a country 1/5th the size of ours, a market at it’s peak, with a similar number of supporters, clubs rarely expire. In fact, more entire American soccer leagues have expired over the last eighty years than EPL clubs.

A day full of hype, pushed of media deadlines, all for the latest in a long line of Euro club tours that began in 1926, when Vienna Hakoah culminated their US tour against the NY Giants in front of a sold out Polo Grounds.

Not only that, Seattle’s not on the list.

Importing independent, open league teams never seems to lend the cred that our closed, single entity craves.

Clam? What do you mean Philly, Kansas City, Houston? KC has a skinny field but has never hosted the All-Star game? Do Philly and Houston have skinny fields (I hope not, the Rapids suck on those fields, we’ve already lost at San Jose and KC, I hoped we were done with skinny fields for the season).

This is a nice deal for MLS and Reliant (Houston’s football stadium) should be full. Next year, I hope and predict they do a non-British club.